


Switch

by mullomocs



Category: Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Divergence, Canon Divergent, Daminette, F/M, Fuck Canon, Good Friend Alya Césaire, Is that right?, M/M, MariBat, Multi, Platonic Adrienette, Soulmates AU, Will add more tags as I go, actually that’s debatable, adrijon - Freeform, author is nervous please be kind, but not lila-centric, mildly bad teacher bustier, of course they’re all hot messes, past lila salt, slight lila sugar, they’re all teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26077072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mullomocs/pseuds/mullomocs
Summary: Two exchange students come to Marinette’s class, but that’s not the only switch happening.DISCONTINUED: i really love this idea but i just lost my touch with daminette. sorry💖
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Jonathan Kent, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 13
Kudos: 130





	1. freaky friday but it’s actually a monday

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO.... i’ve been meaning to make content for this ship because i’ve been suck into it and i can’t get out❤️ i didn’t even plan on posting this on ao3 but here i am, made a side account just for my maribat stuff because i’m mildly scared of people to find my main account. please be kind with your comments... i’m sensitive as fuck and i’m already stepping out of my comfort zone in posting my work because i know people have been getting hate for this. 
> 
> i originally posted this on tumblr as a drabble but then deleted because i was nervous but also because i started planning it as a bigger fic. i made _so_ much notes about the au and i just planned out so much of the premise so here . i am. 
> 
> anyways? i do intend to make this daminette-centric but it’ll take a while. also adrijon misunderstandings ;) 
> 
> i know the direction of the fic and where it’ll end but there’s a huge blank. between the end and some point, i’m working on fixing that. i could say right now that this fic wont take longer than 20 chapters. i’ve only written one-shots (or at least as of late, i used to write a lot in my wattpad years)
> 
> _i’m going to say fuck some of the canon, both sides of the franchise. i’m going to get rid of lila framing marinette. as much as i love lila salt i also love fics ... like mine. i won’t say exactly what i’ll do? but just. yeah_

“Okay, class!” The orange-haired teacher called, trying to assert her power as a teacher. But as she stood by the door, waiting for her students’ chatter to cease, she was met with disappointment. Her already tight smile somehow became even tighter and forced. And yet, none of the students took notice of it, still talking amongst themselves. “Before roll call, I’d like to introduce you all to the exchange students we will be hosting for the rest of the year. The very same exchange program Alya and Lila left for the day before yesterday.”

At the mention of the green-eyed girl and her closest friend, the teacher took hold of their attention. The students were quiet as they processed the words their teacher had given them.

That silence only lasted for a moment.

Everyone started asking about the program, about how Lila is, who the exchange students were, who they’ll be shadowing for the rest of their stay, what prompted the exchange program, who—

“I’m sorry I’m late!!” an unfamiliar voice said as the door was opened abruptly by an equally unfamiliar boy. By the doorframe, they could see their class president, who was beside another black-haired boy, furrowing her eyebrows at the person who barged into their classroom.

“Damian, I haven’t called for you yet.” Mlle. Bustier sighed out (there was a tch from ‘Marinette’), shaking her head in disapproval. 

This made ‘Damian’ tilt ‘his’ head, looking as confused as all the other students were. Then it clicked. 

The voice that came out of her lips wasn’t hers. Heck, the entire body she was in wasn’t hers _at all_. She stretched out ‘her’ arms, and she wasn’t wearing her signature blazer.

As she was processing this information, she felt a tap on her shoulder breaking her train of thought.

Turning her—his?—body to face the person, she found herself face to face with herself. Or at least her body, and assumingly, the person she switched bodies with. Her body’s eyebrows were contorted—like they were confused as to what emotion they should be feeling. What emotion they should be expressing. Her eyes looked at her analytically as her lips formed a tight frown.

“I’m Damian Wayne, and apparently, you’re my soulmate.” Marinette heard her voice say as Damian—in her body—offered a hand. 

The way Damian offered her hand was sending mixed signals too, just like how when he furrowed her eyebrows. 

With a smile, she accepted it. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” 

They shook hands and found themselves in their own bodies within a second.

And they _also_ found themselves staring at each other. 

Marinette had her pretty big bluebell eyes widen in shock as she also took a sharp intake of breath. Her soulmate was _gorgeous_.

Meanwhile, Damian simply stared at her. He had schooled himself to be careful with what reactions he showed. So while he felt shock and a _teensy_ bit of fluster, it didn’t show. 

He never really thought about the possibility of having a soulmate. There have been people who were simply not destined to have someone or their soul was too self-sufficient to find a complement. Due to that, it was instilled in his mind that having a soulmate was a weakness. A sign of not being enough. Since his bond didn’t appear while he was under the League, it never came up to himself directly. But… he had seen subordinates be _ordered_ to either recruit their complement or kill them. He had seen them be given the lecture of how the strongest people don’t have soulmates.

A cough shakes him out of his stupor. 

“Marinette, get to your seat,” 

“Yes, madame!” she replied and rushed to her solo desk at the back.

With a tired smile, Mlle. Bustier gestured to the two boys. “Everyone, as you may have heard a while ago he is Damian Wayne—“ _she tried to put her hand on his shoulder but he moved forward to avoid it_ “—and this is Jonathan Kent.”

“I’m Jon!” The other black-haired boy who had remained quiet for a while finally said in French, the way he spoke suggested he was still learning the language or that he just learned it recently.

“Sit on the empty desk in the second row,” she told the two of them. 

As soon as they were settled, she continued. “Let’s do roll call, shall we?”

___

The bell rang.

Before Caline could even dismiss them, the class was already packing up their stuff and grabbing their bags. 

The teacher shook her head and sighed for what was like the millionth time today. “Study for the quiz tomorrow, and make sure to bring your textbook or the pdf on your tablet.”

A quiet “yes, madame” was heard from some students with Marinette’s being the loudest albeit she’s at the backmost part of the classroom.

“Marinette!” the blonde called for his friend, walking up to her as she finished up placing her sketchbook into her bag. “Nathalie said I could eat at your place today!” 

“That’s great, Adrien!” She closed her bag and carried it on her shoulders. “Maman is cooking fried rice, some dumplings and her version of celestial soup.”

The blonde rolled his eyes at that. “Oh Mari… too shy to call it Marinette soup?”

“You’re not getting any!” She playfully condemned him and blushed at what he said as she started speed walking away from her best friend. 

“Nooo!!” the model said in faux hurt, putting his hand over his heart as he fell to his knees for more effect.

When he didn’t hear her respond, he looked up and noticed that Marinette was still walking away.

“Mari!!” he exclaimed as he shot up to his feet and ran to catch up to her by the stairs outside the classroom.

When he did, Marinette let out an overly exaggerated hmph!’ and raised her chin slightly to the opposite direction Adrien was by.

Before the model could comment on how obviously teasing she was, a voice called out to them from the top of the staircase.

“Oh, um, wait! Marinette…!” one of the exchange students said, uncertainty in his voice as he pronounced her name. He had blue eyes, like the aforementioned girl’s. But, it seemed richer, livelier and... was slightly obscured by the glare of his eyeglasses. Right next to him was a brooding boy with a deep frown etched onto his face. 

Marinette and Adrien looked back at the two as they walked—well, Jon dragged Damian by the arm as he did most of the walking—to them. 

When all four of them were finally eye level with one another, the fashionista gave them a dazzling smile and asked, “What could I do for the two of you? Do you want a tour? The school campus isn’t that confusing so it’ll honestly be a quick tour. Unless you want a tour for Paris? I _could_ do that but it might take a day or so and I’m not usually free for that long a time. Or do you need help catching up with the curriculum? Want to know more about the teachers? Do you know about the akumas? What about—“

“Mari,” Adrien chuckled, breaking her out of her ramblings, “let them talk.”

Her eyes widened at that, she gave an awkward laugh which she trailed off to a cough. 

“Oh, um, yeah.”

“Right! So Dam”— _the other boy elbowed the one speaking_ —“rude. Damian, here, was wondering if he could get to know you since the two of you are bonded! It could be the four of us hanging out too. And since you mentioned it, maybe we could have a tour! Maybe just your favorite spots if you’re really tight on time.” Jon proposed.

“Oh! That’s perfect, weren’t we supposed to hang out later after classes, Mari?” the blond nudged his friend.

She hummed in agreement. “Yeah! That does sound perfect. We can head home for a bit to leave our bags and meet up at the park across the street? Or you guys can leave your stuff at my place too since I’m also across the street. Speaking of, maybe you guys can swing by and eat with us? Maman makes the best food!”

“We’re busy.” the green-eyed boy replied, his tone was final and he gave no interest in actually socializing with them - soulmate bond be damned. Not that he was lying either, but he was going to brief his family on their initial thoughts of Paris. It won’t take that long but they don’t know that and it’ll suffice.

“Oh,” her response sounded deflated, “that’s alright! See you back in class then, looking forward to later!” 

She waved at them as did Adrien and they continued their walk to the bakery.

“You got your soulmate, buginette! I thought you’d be happier with this, you have been thinking about it for a long time,” he said, trying to press her for her feelings about the matter.

He was right, of course. Marinette had _dreamed_ of the moment her bond would activate. _Dreamed_ of the moment she would finally meet her soulmate. She was often found spacing out, and when brought back to reality, she’d be muttering out words about soulmates. She made extensive research on the topic and the different kinds of bonds. Extensive research as to how these soulmate bonds came to be. On how it had affected the population. She had expected to feel butterflies in her stomach, or at least something remotely close to what she felt when she had a crush on Adrien. 

But, oddly enough, this just felt normal. Nothing too extraordinary. It was just like meeting a new person. It felt just like when she first met Alya.

She shook her head and sighed.

“It’s nothing, minou.”


	2. pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Lila have a little chat. Marinette reacts late.

**A few days before, while boarding the plane…**

Alya has been suspicious of Lila’s behavior for weeks—well, her current behavior. She had been suspicious of her lies for as long as she’d returned, and she let it slide simply because she knew what it felt like to be the new girl in an unfamiliar place. It was easy to just tune out her lies and noncommittally ask her for more details. She was at a loss on what to do.

_All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing…_

It was a quote she had always wanted to live by. A quote so close to her, that it might as well be her motto. But… that quote is just from another person. Even if she is a superhero, she was still human—and humans make mistakes. As much as Alya was headstrong and a force to be reckoned with, she’s still a human. And a teenager one at that. They start to overthink and second guess their choices more than they used to at that stage of life.

Her suspicion on Lila’s behavior amplified a few days after the exchange program was announced. She noticed her coming to school with a forced smile—not like her other forced, fake smiles. It was forced because she was hiding something that was bothering her. 

And then whenever the class surrounded her, awaited for stories of grandeur, she would weave the conversation to be about someone else.

When people would mention Jagged Stone, she’d seemingly _inadvertently_ switch the topic to Kitty Section. And if people kept pushing, she laughed it off and would say they’d be better off asking Marinette about him. 

When people would mention Ladybug she’d start talking about the most recent akuma attack and how masterfully Ladybug used her Lucky Charm.

When people would offer her help because of her disabilities, she’d thank them and say she had no need for it. That she wanted to be able to depend on herself. 

She noticed all of this because she’s still… partly a good reporter. One that learned from their mistakes. She could tell when people were trying to misdirect her, because she’d do that herself whenever she would interview a hero. 

So with all of those evidences combined, the reporter took that as silent confirmation to her initial suspicion. Her suspicion of her lies. But now, a stronger suspicion surfaced and she found herself wondering what made her stop lying. She didn’t even have a lead and she was desperate in knowing _something_. But for the meantime, until she could get an explanation, she deleted all her interviews from Lila on her blog. 

That didn’t go unnoticed by Parisians. 

But she put down her phone and allowed the emails and notifications to come pouring in. 

She needed to fix this. 

Not only for herself, of course. She dismissed her best friend’s warnings. She vouched for a liar and let so _many people_ believe in her. 

The reporter heaved a sigh as she looked out the small window on her right with her chin rested on her hand. She waited for when the shuffling on her left stopped. 

But before she could even say a word, Lila beat her to it.

“You wondering why I stopped lying?” she asked, chuckling drily to try and ease the tension. She could feel Lila’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look.

She didn’t have to say anything for Lila to continue.

“I got caught.”

Alya could feel her anger rise. How _dare_ she. Only feeling guilty—only _changing_ when she got caught. She didn’t even try hiding her scowl, she was pissed and she let it show. 

“I get that you’re mad at me, I’m not really asking for forgiveness because I know I deserve every little karma that’ll come at me,” she admitted, her voice genuine.

“Why did you lie in the first place?” Alya asked—no, she demanded. She gritted her teeth, awaiting for Lila’s—probably unsatisfying—answer. 

“That’s easy,” she started, in the same tone as when she started the conversation, “I was new and I wanted to fit in. Everyone in class seemed to have achieved so much—and there I was. Nothing to offer to the table. And it was fun in it’s own way, I guess. It grew to become more, it became nastier, I got greedier the more I lied. There was a thrill to it.” 

Alya’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “And you just stopped when you got caught? What about when Marinette was exposing you when you first got back?”

The Italian gave another dry chuckle. “Her catching me the first time made the thrill feel so much better—because I felt unstoppable. I got caught by my mother. Mlle. Bustier managed to get in contact with her for once—shockingly enough—so she could ask her about this trip. To ask permission before they could announce about the program… ”

Her voice cracked, and the reporter could notice her starting to sniffle, as if trying to keep tears from falling. 

“I… I lied too much. I did so much damage… to your blog, to the class, to my relationship with mother and…” she trailed off, she couldn’t say her name without feeling like her heart was getting stabbed a million times over.

That pause made Alya face her directly. In front of her was a sad sight. The brunette noticed how she started scratching her wrist—scratching a familiar pink mark on her skin—, how her eyes darted everywhere and anywhere but the reporter’s, how tired and genuine she looked. She looked pitiful, and it turned her anger into guilt—even if just a bit.

“...and…?” she pressed, trying to make her voice soft as possible so as to not aggravate the liar even though she was just about at the verge of screaming at her a few moments ago. 

“...and Marinette.” she mumbled softly.

Scratch that, she wanted to scream at her right then and there.

“What else did you do to her.” It wasn’t a question, it was another demand. Her voice cracked like Lila’s, but unlike her’s, it was because of anger. Anger that built up again after she let herself feel pity and guilt for the girl. 

“Bathroom… threatened,” the Italian responded, not trusting her voice to explain it. 

Alya wished she was holding a pen, she could have really used something to break. She could have also really used a break in general.

She let out a shuddered breath that she didn’t know she held in. 

“You’re a piece of work, Rossi,” she huffed out, still trying to wrap her head around all of the information. “I hope you at least plan to apologize to Marinette.”

“I don’t plan to, I already did.” 

Alya noticed how she started rubbing the pink on the skin of her forearm. She could feel the whiplash. She didn’t expect that. Her anger fizzled out, even by just a bit.

“When?” 

“Weeks ago, remember when she came to class happily skipping that she tripped on a step?” she answered wistfully. 

That made Alya soften, thinking about her best friend’s antics. How clumsily cute she is. How she’s selfless to a fault of being selfish about it. 

“No, my girl trips so much that I can’t remember that,” Alya shook her head, laughing softly, “you still owe her big time.”

“Mhm, and I owe you big time too,” 

The tension was better than before—instead of the negativity, there was awkwardness.

“You still didn’t answer my question,” Alya muttered, “not… entirely at least.”

“Which?” 

“You got caught, by your mom. So what? I find it hard to believe you’d stop because of that,” her reporter side was showing.

“You’re right, I wouldn’t have stopped… but mother… she compared me to father,” she answered, closing her eyes in an attempt to relax.

“And—“

The pilot’s microphone turned on and they heard him announce that they were about to take off.

“We’ll continue this next time, okay, Alya? I think we both deserve some rest,” Lila tried to appease her

The girl just narrowed her eyes in response.

She needed to figure whatever that was about. 

______

**Now, in front of Françoise Dupont…**

“Oh my _god_ ,” Marinette found herself practically screeching, she tightly held onto Adrien’s shoulders as she rested the crown of her head on his chest. “I have a _soulmate_. And we could switch bodies. And we… oh my god.” 

“Buginette…” the blond said softly.

“He’s Damian _Wayne_! His brother is a regular of mine and— _oh my god_. I didn’t even know who he was until I researched about who was funding the exchange program with the help of Alya. He’ll probably think I’m self-absorbed and that I live _under a rock_. Under a rock, Adrien! I—“

“Buginette.” the blond said louder and with more power. He placed his hands on Mari’s shoulders and made her face him at eye level.

He looked into her eyes and reassured her, “You’re amazing, bug. And I doubt he cares about that kind of stuff, heck, he might even appreciate someone who doesn’t recognize him.”

He paused as he managed to soothe his partner. 

“Just like how when we met,” he finished off teasingly.

Marinette smiled shily, “You’re never going to let that go, huh?”

Adrien straightened his back and gave her a smug—but playful—grin. “You didn’t recognize your favorite designer’s top model _and_ son.”

The designer rolled her eyes and flicked the boy’s forehead—a soft pink appears on the skin she touched. “Yeah, yeah.”

The model pouted but didn’t say anything more, falling into a comfortable silence as they waited for the two new students. 

Sadly for Paris, comfortable silence was never compatible with it. A few seconds of them standing together humming and tapping to a Jagged Stone song together, both of their phones rang a blaring alarm. 

They met each others’ eyes and nodded.

“Akuma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed that!!!! wooo cliffy hanger .... i REALLY do hate lila’s character but i wanted to give her more structure rather than just how the show portrayed her ... it’s going to be hard to do with every canon stuff she did so i’ve decided to remove some stuff that are canon and ... pushing it away.
> 
> anyways, i’m actually stuck in some chapters, i’ve done as much as i could to understand damian’s character but i still couldn’t seem to get a grasp in actually _writing_ him. it’s like there’s this pressure too? regardless of what i do i feel like i’ll never be good enough of a writer to actually portray his character since i only really got into the franchise because of maribat. 
> 
> because of that i’m actually posting this chapter earlier than i’m supposed to so i can ask for help, i guess? what do you guys suggest in helping myself understand and write his character? 
> 
> also, another thing, the next update will take a _long_ while before i get to post it since, as i mentioned this before, i posted this earlier than i was supposed to. apologies!!! i’ll try to finish up as soon as possible but i find that hard to see considering the issue above. 
> 
> that’s it?? i think?????? 
> 
> byebye!!

**Author's Note:**

> how was that? i’m nervous 😭😭 when this is posted chapter 2 is already finished and i’m just editing it, and that missing plot i mentioned at the start would be partially filled (takes out the fun if i plan it out exactly already yanno) but i won’t be posting that until i finish chapter 3.


End file.
